She Rides Shotgun: A Gritty Crime Thriller with Flawed Execution (4K)

The Film:

Filmmaker Nick Rowland has spent the last 14 years making a pretty good name for himself with shorts, TV shows, and films, with "Slap" and "Calm with Horses" even earning him a pair of prestigious BAFTA nominations for Best British Short Film and Outstanding British Film of the Year, respectively. However, you'd be forgiven if you hadn't heard of his latest endeavor, "She Rides Shotgun," which fell well under the radar for many after it was given an extremely limited release in theaters, but which found some success when it was released on streaming, even going so far as to top the chart in a few countries. Now that it's finally getting its physical release, the hope is that that success will continue, but is Rowland's latest project one that's worth trying to rescue from relative obscurity, or was this one best left in its limited engagement?

The film begins with 11-year-old Polly (Ana Sophia Heger) unexpectedly getting picked up from school by her estranged father Nate (Taron Egerton), who just got out of prison. She tries to ask about her mother, but all she gets are assurances that everything is fine. Nate takes her to a motel where he cuts & dyes her hair, and teaches her how to use a bat in self-defense. Later that night, she happens to see a news broadcast that reveals that her mother & stepfather have been murdered, and that her father is the main suspect in the killings & her kidnapping.

Polly decides to call the number provided and talks to Detective John Park (Rob Yang), ultimately revealing their location. However, Nate discovers what she's done and admits that a gang called Aryan Steel killed her mother for something he did, and is now after her. The two flee the scene and continue to go on the run in an effort to set things right, an effort that will eventually have Nate facing off with the leader of the very gang that wants him and his daughter dead.

With "She Rides Shotgun," Rowland & screenwriters Jordan Harper (author of the novel on which it's based), Ben Collins, and Luke Piotrowski set out to make a gritty crime thriller with a twist of family drama thrown in for good measure. It's fair to say that they accomplish that in part by establishing an intriguing reason for forcing Nate to go on the run with his daughter, though it's also fair to say that the details behind it remains a little fuzzy at best. Still, the set-up brings with it a certain amount of potential that these writers could utilize in any number of ways to deliver the exact kind of hard-hitting & exciting thriller they're aiming to make.

Sadly, that's where they hit a bit of a bump. The set-up is there, but the execution is somewhat quickly thrown off by the use of some rather overdone cliches and a lack of development in both story & characters. For the most part, the main villain of the piece is your standard corrupt sheriff, who just happens to be the leader of the Aryan Steel Gang, and coincidentally also runs a large meth lab. John Carroll Lynch, who has delivered a number of fine performances in the past, does what he can with the role, but with it being so under-written and bland, there just isn't much there to work with.

As the film progresses, the writers also seem to have trouble coming up with anything compelling for the characters to do. Even when they have the chance to let Polly & Nate bond a bit, they never give it sufficient time to develop very far, instead rushing them along so they can go on the run again. It's another area of the film that had great potential, one that could've added much more depth & significantly raised the emotional stakes, but unfortunately it just doesn't get explored very much.

At the end of it all, we come to the disappointing conclusion that these filmmakers simply haven't tried very hard to do anything remotely new or interesting with the familiar material. It's a shame because there were indeed a number of possibilities to be had with this set-up, possibilities that could've led to a rather riveting experience that has a father fighting for the life of his daughter, but the writers regrettably took every easy road they could instead, ultimately leaving us with a forgettable, under-cooked thriller.

Video/Audio:

"She Rides Shotgun" comes to 4K in a 2.39:1, 2160p Ultra High Definition transfer of excellent quality. The picture is perfectly sharp & clear throughout its entire 120-minute duration, with the film being shot in such a way to give it a suitably slightly grainy look. Likewise, the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is fantastic, giving you all of the dialogue, sound effects, and music in outstanding quality. Overall, Lionsgate has done a wonderful job in both areas for the film's physical debut.

Special Features:

None.

Conclusion:

Nick Rowland's "She Rides Shotgun" attempts to deliver a gritty crime thriller with a little family drama thrown in to spice things up, but with a flawed execution involving overused cliches and a lack of development in its story & characters, we sadly end up with a film that had an intriguing set-up, but was unable to capitalize on its great potential, ultimately making for a forgettable, under-cooked thriller.

Score: 2.5/5

Now available on 4K.

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